DUNAWAY BOOKS
NEWSLETTER FOR THE MONTH OF MAY
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“Robin Hood and
Little John,
They both are gone to the fair, O!
And we will go to the merry green-wood,
To see what they do there, O!
And for to chase, O!
To chase the buck and doe.
With ha-lan-tow, rumble, O!
For we were up as soon as any day, O!
And for to fetch the summer home,
The summer and the may, O!
For summer is a-come, O!
And winter is a-gone, O!”
--Cornish traditional song
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Greetings again to you all, to the scholars, story addicts and curious minds that make up the rhythm of our days. We have finally made it to May, and it looks to be a full summer ahead, with many festivals and gatherings going on in the city. Out-of-doors looks and smells lovely, and people and animals are absolutely bouncing all over the place soaking up the light and the oxygenated air. These past few weeks have been quite busy for us! This month’s newsletter contains a little more news and a little less poetry and such; perhaps next month we will have the leisure time to make it up. To compensate this month, we have added a Maibowle recipe for your entertainment and enjoyment (and historical edification, of course).
Firstly, we would like to again remind you that the sound-art event Ancora il Piu Estinto II will be taking place during the first three Thursdays of May. We will extend our Thursday evenings until 10 pm on the 5th, 12th and 19th so that the community may wander in and experience these temporary transformations of our usual environment. We are looking forward to seeing and hearing what transpires on each of those nights. Thirty or more musicians will be participating in all, and the combinations will be different each time. The performers may be playing along with street sound, one another, or the winds that only blow through inner landscapes. Given the intimacy of both the work and the space, these nights should be a rare delight for the discerning listener.
Book-wise, we have been very fortunate in acquiring a large
private library within the past month. The
gentleman specialized in aviation and military history, but had put together a
sizable collection of reference materials on just about every topic
imaginable. They are making their way
out onto the shelves at this very moment.
Many of the aviation titles are small specialized volumes focusing on
particular types of fighter plane. World
War II and the Cold War are well-represented in the military history, as are
weapons technology,
Used books can travel far, have more lives than cats, and are definitely our specific and beloved specialty, but occasionally we do pick up a new title of particular worth and local interest. We are glad to announce that we are now carrying the latest chapbook from Nanora Sweet, professor of literature, Romanticism and poetry at UMSL, and co-editor, with Rebecca Ellis, of 2004’s “Breathing Out.” She has been working with the St. Louis Women’s Poetry Workshop, the “Loosely Identified” group of that title, since 1975. Her new book is entitled “Mix of Securities,” published by Snark Publishing, and is available at our front counter.
Local poetry is also kicking up live and loud around town…the
St. Louis Poetry Slam is relaunching! It
will be happening weekly at Rhythm & Brews Coffeehouse, at
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As we all know, the month of May is dear to poets:
“Ask of Her, the mighty Mother.
Her reply puts this other
Question: What is Spring?-
Growth in every thing –
Flesh and fleece, fur and feather,
Grass and green world all together,
Star-eyed strawberry breasted
Throstle above Her nested
Cluster of bugle blue eggs thin
Forms and warms the life within,
And bird and blossom swell
In sod or sheath or shell.”
- Gerard Manly
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Of course, some will be a bit curmudgeonly about it:
“Prithee, smite the poet in the eye when he would sing to you praises of
the month
of May. It is a month presided over by the spirits of mischief and
madness. Pixies
and flibbertigibbets haunt the budding woods: Puck and his train of midgets
are
busy in town and country.
In May, nature holds up at us a chiding finger, bidding us remember that we
are
not gods, but overconceited members of her own great family. She reminds
us
that we are brothers to the chowder-doomed clam and the donkey; lineal
scions
of the pansy and the chimpanzee, and but cousins-german to the cooing
doves,
the quacking ducks and the housemaids and policemen in the parks.”
- O. Henry, The Month of May
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(Or even downright cranky):
“Every year, back comes Spring, with nasty little birds yapping
their fool heads off and the ground all mucked up with plants.”
- Dorothy Parker
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Here is an
old recipe to soothe the crankiest curmudgeon and enhance everyone’s enjoyment
of the bright skies and capricious breezes of this beautiful month…(the
aforementioned poetess may have liked hers spiked with something stronger, but
it is very good as given, and traditionally festive, tastily celebrating all
that mischief and puckish yapping):
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MAY
WINE/MAIBOWLE
1 bottle of German white wine
1/2 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
12 sprigs of fresh woodruff (dried very slightly to enhance flavor)
Pour wine
into carafe or wide mouth bottle. Add strawberries and woodruff and allow to
steep for at least an hour. Strain and serve well chilled. Garnish with thin
orange slices and blossoming woodruff tops. The strawberries add a wonderful
flavor and the woodruff a mellow, spicy sweetness. Other suggested additions might be sparkling
wine or water, fresh raspberries or brandy…see what you like best!
---
Maibowle in
“May 1st,
Maitag, was made special with picnics, school outings, maypoles, and Maiwein or
Maibowle, a punch made with white wine and the herb sweet woodruff. There was a
time when German gardens all across
--from this
article on German lifeways in the Ozarks: http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/periodicals/ozarkswatch/ow303f.htm
About
woodruff itself, once known as Waldmeister
in
What to do with all those little purple things mucking up your yard (if they yap, we don’t know what to suggest):
http://thefoody.com/hpreserves/violetsyrup.html
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/v/vioswe12.html
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Finally, an “incomplete history” of poetry slam, for those who would like to do a little research before the plunge:
http://www.e-poets.net/library/slam/
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We sincerely hope to see many of you at the music nights this month. It will be interesting to observe such an ordinarily library-like space sprout vines, tendrils and tangles of living music around its occupants. Hopefully, if all goes well, we will be able to produce more events like Ancora il Piu Estinto, and continue to bring music, art, and books together for those who love them as much as we do.
So please do come out and listen, and may your May be most merry!
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DUNAWAY BOOKS
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